Downhill skiing is becoming an ever increasingly family-oriented sport. Younger and younger children are taking up downhill skiing and are demonstrating great abilities in maneuvering down relatively steep inclines, often with little or no fear. However, once gravity stops taking effect at the end of the run, many children and other less experienced skiers struggle on their skis. Children and even some adults often lack the ability to "skate" or "pole" effectively across the flat area or up the slight incline which is typically encountered at the end of the ski run when proceeding to the chair lift. It would be desirable to provide a downhill ski with a simple traction device which could readily be activated by even a child when needed to proceed along a flat surface or up an incline while still on downhill skis.